NBA legend Kobe Bryant has died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash which reportedly tragically claimed the lives of another nine people, one of whom was his own daughter.

Bryant was widely considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time, with the distinction of making 18 All-Star teams during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a first-round pick in the 1996 draft, winning five NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs and he was the league MVP in 2008.

A number of other prominent NBA players have reacted to the news:

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Per Variety, the NBA legend was traveling in his private helicopter, which crashed in Calabasas in the state of California on Sunday morning.

According to TMZ, Kobe and his daughter Gianna were on their way to the Mamba Academy for basketball practice in nearby Thousand Oaks when the tragic accident occurred.

Dwayne Wade reacted to the news in this emotional Instagram video:

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Authorities are currently investigating the circumstances of the crash. In the meantime, tributes to the sporting legend have poured in from fans on social media.

Not only this but now attention has been drawn to the last ever tweet ever made by Bryant, which appears to be his sincere congratulations to Lebron James for passing him on all-time NBA scoring list.

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On January 26, 2020, at 3.39 AM, Bryant wrote: "Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother [sic]" He also added a muscle emoji and the hashtag "#33644" - which was the number of points needed for James to become the third-leading scorer.

Bryant also shared his congratulations on his official Instagram account, writing: "On to #2 @kingjames! Keep growing the game and charting the path for the next. [sic]"

Our thoughts are with the late athlete's family and friends during this difficult time.

Kobe Bryant's last tweet was to congratulate Lebron James for passing him on all-time NBA scoring list